The breeding pair gave birth to 11 snakes.
Newquay Zoo has become the first zoo in the UK to breed the long-nosed vine snake in a zoological collection. The breeding pair produced 11 youngsters on September 13, 2017. The long-nosed vine snake (Ahaetulla nasuta) is usually found in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, and feed on frogs and lizards using its binocular vision to hunt.
newquay zoo
The breeding pair gave birth to 11 snakes.
Vine snakes are notoriously difficult to breed and rear successfully in zoological collections. Senior reptile keeper, Gareth O’Dare said, “We are over the moon to have been able to breed this species. Being the first is not only a great achievement for us, but it is fantastic for the species.
Understanding how to breed this snake in zoos can help develop our expertise with similar species of reptile, and we hope to share our findings with other zoological collections to further develop the captive population of vine snakes and other reptiles alike.”
The only zoo in the UK to keep vine snakes, Newquay Zoo, has housed the species for more than three years. Knowledge of the species among specialists is still minimal, and Gareth comments, “We estimate that the gestation period of vine snakes is around six months, as we have been monitoring the pair for some time now. However, as they have never bred in captivity before we cannot be 100-percent sure.”
This ground-breaking news is a great achievement for Newquay Zoo. The charity zoo now hopes similar husbandry techniques can be used to further its success with other rare and endangered species of snake.
Newquay Zoo is a registered charity. For more information go to newquayzoo.org.uk.
